Starting device for explosion-engines.



C. C. ROTH.

STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSION ENGINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 25. 1911.

1,024,108. Patented Apr.23,1912.

rZes Y 3%@ Wm' parts throughout the several' views of the CHARLES C. ROTH, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA.

y UNITED STATES STARTING DEVICE FOR EXPLOSION-ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 23, 1912.

Application filed September 25, 1911. Seri-a1 No. 651,142.

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I. VCHARLES C.' ROTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Indianapolis, `in the county of Marion and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Devices for `Explosion-Engines, of which the following is a specilication.

- My invention relates to improvements in starting devices for explosion engines with a. plurality of cylinders whereby compressed air is admitted to each of the cylinders consecutively only during the explosion'stroke of its piston.

v The object is `to reduce'the amount of pipe fitting and otherwise topsimplify the means for conducting the air to the cylinders in proper sequence; to place the operations u nder the control of the driver; to continue the movement of the pistons with compressed air by its consecutive admission to thecylinders until the normal operations by the use of hydrocarbon vapors properly exploded have been resumed, and to provide. automatic timing and cont-rol which will be perated by the same compressed air which is' subsequently used for moving the pistons' in the cylinders.

I accomplish the above objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 illustrates diagrammatically the cylinders of a. six-cylinder engine equipped Wit-h the mechanism of myl invention. Fig. 2 is a section on theline 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragment in longitudinal section of the .air distributing conduit on a larger `scale than that of Fig. 1, showing the coupling and driving connections with the cam-shaft. Fig. 4, is a viewin end elevat-ion,of the mechanism illustrated in Fig.V 3, and Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate the contacting faces of the coupling plates which connect the cam-shaft with its driving mechanism.

Like characters of reference indicate like drawings.

AI have shown my invention as applied to a six-cylinder engine, but it is equally applicable to engines having a less number of cylinders, or to those having a still greater number, the six-cylinder engine being sho-wn .merely by way of illustration.

I have numbered the cylinders 1 to 6, inclusive,vin the order in which a hydrocarbon charge will be tired or exploded 1n them in the usual way, i are the pistons operating in said cylinders, 8 a crank-shaft and 9 the crank shaft, all of usual and well known construction.

10 is a tank which is filled by any suitable means with compressed air, and 11 is a distributing tubev or conduit to which .the compipe 12, and located in the pipe 12 is a valve 13 forv regulating the air discharge, through said pipe. The valve 13 has a push-rod terminating with the cap 14, whereby,by pressing the cap 11, as by the drivers foot, the valve 13 will be opened to allow the discharge of air from tank 10 into conduit 11 .through pipe 12. The construction of the valve 13 is fully described and shown in my previous application for patent filed May 22, 1911, Serial Number 628839 and need notbe described here in detail.

The conduit 11 has tubular discharges 15, one Vfor 'each of the cylinders of the engine, from said conduit into each cylinder at the outer endof the latter, and valve seats are formed in the cylinders at the endsof said discharges, to receive the tapering valves 1G which, in opening, move inwardly of their respective cylinders. Each valve has a stem 17 which terminates within the conduit 11. A spring 18 is located in a chamber 2O formed in tube 15. It surrounds the stem 17 and bears at one end against the bottom of chamber 20 and at its other end against a disk 21 through which stem 17 passes and which is limited in its longitudinal movement o'n the -stem by any suitable means such as a pin 22. The tube hasa. lateral bend at the bottom of chamber and extends thence to conduit 11 at the side of chamber 20 to provide an air passage independent of said ,chamber 2O and enables me to inclose the spring 18 in chamber 20 and protect it suiiiciently from any hot discharge through tube 15 to prevent the overheating 'of spring 18 which would take the temper out of the latter and dest-roy its usefulness. If the several engine cylinders are located more or less remote Yfrom conduit 11 the tubes 15 will be suitably extended and -bent to reach them in connecting the conduit 11 therewith.

Mounted within the conduit 11 is a piston 23 having a travel longitudinally ot' said conduit and provided with suitable packing` rings to make an air-tight fit between the pressed air in tank 10 is delivered through a j connecting-rods from the pistons to thealti.

piston and the inner Wall of the conduit.V

This piston is located near one end of the conduit, as shown on Fig. 1, and is pressed normally away from the adjacent end by a spring 24. -The opposite end of conduit 1l is closed in an airtight manner, here shown by means of a plug 25 which screws into the internally threaded end of said conduit. This plug 25 has a central opening through which a rod 26 of the piston 23 is passed and mounted on this end of the rod is a coupling disk 28, having a pin 29 on its inner side. Mounted loosely on the extended plug 25 is a bevel gear Wheel 30, and bolted to the cuterside of the Wheel 30 is a coupling disk 31 having a socket in its outer face which is adapted to receive thepin 29 of the coupling disk 28 and to direct the pin into said socket immediately, upon the bringing of the adjacent sides of disks 28 and 31 together by a longitudinal movement of rod 26, I provide an eccentric cam extension 32 on the disk 28 anda correspondingly shaped socket 33 in the disk 31, which, by the seating of the cam in its socket, the two disks will be rotated to bring pin 29 into register with its socket. p

Mounted upon the rod 26 are the cams 35, there being one cam for each of the valvestems 17, and the ends of said stems are held in the paths of the cams by the action of their respective springs 18. The cams 35 have extensions 36 which taper down to the dimension of rod 26 to permit the cams to be moved into and out of contact with stems 17 by4 a longitudinal movement of the rod 26 carrying said cams. The movement of rod 26 in a. direction to take its cams out of contact with said valve stems is accomplished by the pressure of spring 24C against piston 23, and the reverse movement of rod 26 to bring the cams into action against'the valve stems is accomplished by the pressure' of the compressed air against piston 23 when admitted from tankl() to conduit 11. Thisvair pressure is suflicient to overcome the tension of spring 24.

The bevel Wheel 30 is in constant drive from the crank shaft 8 of the engine through 0 pinions 38 and 39 on shaft 4() and pinion l1 on said crank shaft 8, and by the coupling together of disks 29 and 31 by the longitudinal movement of piston rod 26 When the piston is moved by the 'admission of compressed air to conduit 11 as above described, the rod 26 will be 'rotated and the cams 35 will all be rotated with it.

The cams 35 are shaped substantially as shown in Fig. 2 with enlargements to lower 6o the valve stems 17 and hold the valve 16 open during a little less than one fourth of each revolution of the rod 26. The rod 26 ina six cylinder engine is madev to travel one revolution for each two revolutions of the crank shaft 8 in order to properlytime the opening ofthe valves 16. The cams 35 are arranged on rod 26 in a manner as illustrated in Fig. 2 to correspond with the proper movements of the piston of the cylinder with which it is designed to operate,

the purpose being to always admit the compressed air to a cylinder during the explosion stroke of its piston at the beginning of that stroke. By so doing, when the engine is quiet, the force of the compressed air admitted toa. cylinder operates its piston;

this starts the entire engine, rotates the rody 26 closing the air valve which had just discharged, vand opening the compressed air discharge into another cylinder at the beginning of its expansion stroke and so on until the. engine is operating normally by the explosion of hydrocarbon charges in the usual way. The supply of air from tank 10 to conduit 11, continues as long as the valve 13 is held open by the driver and the valve 13 will be closed by him as soon as the engine is running with gasolene.

The operation of my device in brief is as follows: The engine being quiet the driver presses his foot against cap 141. opening valve 13 and admitting compressed air from l against spring 2a compressing the spring 95 .and moving the cams 35 into contact with stems 17 and also coupling the rods 26 through disks 28'and 31 to the bevel wheel 30. One of the 6 cams 35 will be in right position to open a valve 16 into a cylinder having its piston at the beginningof its expansion stroke. This piston will be driven by the force of compressed air, thereby starting the engine in the manner previously' described, and as soon as the normal hydrocarbon operations have been resumed the compressed' air will be dispensed with by the driver relieving cap '14 of valve 13. i Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In a starter for explosion engines having a plurality of cylinders, the combination with spring-closed lnlet valves, one for each cylinder, of a conduit, a separate 4tubular discharge from the conduit to each valve, a

lrod mounted to rotate inJ said conduit and means for operatively coupling the rod to the rod and Wheel, means operated by the .pressure of air in the conduit for operatively coupling the rod and Wheel, and for starting the engine, and means operated by the rotation of the cams 'on said rod for consecutively opening each valve.

3. Ina starter for explosion engines hav/ ing a' plurality of cylinders, the combination with spring-closed inlet valves, one for each cylinder, of a conduit, a' separate tubular discharge from the conduit to veach valve,.a

rod mounted torotate in said conduit and having cams, said rod having longitudinal adjustment, a pistonjmounted on said rod and making an air tight it with the inner Walls of the conduit, a Wheel operatively connected with the crank-shaft of the engine, means for operativelyl coupling the rod to said Wheel, a spring to move the rod longitudinally and uncouple it from the Wheel, means for supplying compressed air to 'the conduit to remove the-piston and cou'- plethe rod to the Wheel and to start the engine thereby causing said rod and its cams to rotate, and means operated by the rota- Copics of this 'patent' may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

tion of the cams for consecutively opening each valve. 'A

4. In a starter for explosion engines having a plurality of cylinders, the combination with spring-closed inlet valves, one for each cylinder, of a conduit, a separate tubular discharge from the conduit to Yeach valve, a

Vrod mounted to rotate in said conduit, and

having cams, said rodhaving longitudinal adjustment, a disk operativelyy connected with the crank-shaft of the engine, a second disk mounted onsaid rod and having a pin to enter a hole in the other disk, means for directing the pin into its hole When the two disks are brought together, means operated by the rrota-tion of said` rod and cams for consecutively opening each valve, and means for supplying compressed air to the conduit.

In Witness whereof, I, have hereunto set my hand and seal at Indianapolis, Indiana,

this, 18th day of September, A. D. one thousand rnine hundred and eleven.

CHARLES' G." ROTI-I.l [n s] Witnesses:

J. A. MINTURN,

F. W. WOERNER.

Washington, D. C. 

